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Postmedia distortions

Writing about the partnership between New York hedge fund owned Postmedia, Canada’s largest newspaper chain, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Rafe Mair quoted Thomas Jefferson:

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.

Had he been able, Rafe would have denounced Colby Cosh for the Postmedia scribbler’s services to Kinder Morgan and Alberta oil companies.

Examples of Cosh’s distortions and false suppositions:

…threats from B.C.’s government just keep getting louder and less specific.

In fact, Premier Horgan has not escalated threats but has consistently said there will be citizen consulations and a scientific review of dilbit spill consequences on lands and waters of BC.

On the other hand, Premier Notley began an interprovincial conflict with a boycott of BC wines. Now, she loudly threatens additional unspecified acts to harm citizens of British Columbia.

As an Albertan I have an overall economic interest in seeing pipelines built: every extra penny that oil exports bring into the province is one less that payers of individual taxes have to supply.

Again, if fact doesn’t suit the objective, rely on fabrication. Alberta’s 2017 budget forecast a $10.3 billion deficit. According to Cosh, the shortfall would be gone if Alberta exported additional oil worth that sum. Only a fool imagines that 100 cents of every dollar paid for exported oil goes into Alberta’s treasury. Even wealthy from oil Norwegian citizens don’t take anything close to that share. The Alberta Government gets a tiny fraction of each oil dollar.

…it should be possible for Canada to undertake large economic megaprojects in a manner consistent with the rule of law.

Indeed, that’s what British Columbia proposes. Rachel Notley instead intends to create new laws to punish her western neighbours by legislating trade restraints. The notion is not consistent with the rule of law, as expressed by Section 21 of the Constitution Act, 1867:

121. All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.

It was our view that the actions of the Alberta Government when we proposed a consultation with our citizens was over the top. They disagreed with our jurisdiction in the matter. We asked them to join us going to court [for resolution] and they declined.

…I have no intention of escalating controversy across the country. I have every expectation that people will respect British Columbia’s right to defend our interests and defend our coast…

Apparently, Cosh believes the rule of law should only apply in ways that favour oil producers.

The unquantifiable threat to the pipeline is not necessarily from B.C.’s government, but from construction delays created by protest tactics and possibly activist sabotage.

Here the Postmedia writer employs another common tactic of thought suppression. Kinder Morgan protests in BC involved thousands and extended over weeks. Yet, these remarkable demonstrations have been peaceful, not involving even slight property damage. The actions, often involving respected leaders of the indigenous community, have been a model of peaceful resistance to armed authorities who’ve dragged numerous people to jail, including seniors and elected members of parliament.

However, without evidence, Cosh claims that sabotage may have delayed construction. A journalists not shilling for the oil business would state the major delay is the one arising from Kinder Morgan’s decision to suspend building activities on the Trans Mountain Pipeline, a move needed because investors have become reluctant to finance a $7 billion project that is already late, over-budget and looking doomed.

While there has been activist sabotage of oil sites, that violence has been an RCMP tactic. CBC reported:

RCMP bombed a wellsite and that they did it with the full support of the energy company that owned it. The Crown admits the allegations are true.

“Operation Kabriole” was planned and executed with the direct involvement of a Calgary based oil and gas business. Alberta Energy Company has a big operation in the Peace River country.

Lawyer Richard Secord told Court of Queen’s Bench that when Alberta Energy Co. and police blew up an AEC shed last Oct. 14, they blamed it on his client, farmer Wiebo Ludwig.

Colby Cosh escalates his rhetoric, referring to “coastal saboteurs who despise Alberta.” He could more easily argue that highly respected leaders of Kinder Morgan protestors do not hate Alberta, they cry for it.

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It’s time to remove our signature from the TILMA agreement signed with Alberta.
It seems to me that Alberta has nothing to bytch about when so much of the land near our border, homes/lands near all winter resorts and interior lakes is Albertan owned. Their sense of entitlement to anything they want in BC is legendary. Perhaps that will change if the Trade, Investment, Labour Mobility Agreement were trashed.
I for one will not be dictated to by an Albertan politician of any stripe, least of all an NDP’er.

Why is it that Alberta and Ottawa are not at war about the cancelling of the Canada East pipeline and the XL pipeline? In fact, Canada East was stopped by Quebec. Not a word from Alberta on Canada East. Odd, very odd indeed.

For me , Calgary is too close to Houston.The mentality of damn the environment full steam ahead with pollution is absurd and disgusting. Look at Norway and other historical oil producing contries and see where they are going. Alberta still wants to trap beavers and send the pelts to Britain. I say Cascadia looks better every day, let us just say goodbye and move on and try to save the future generations.

The Vancouver ?Sun and Province are just a couple of newspapers which, in my opinion, act more like advertising sheets for big business, the financial elites and the right wing politicians. They don’t publish much of interest beyond sports and comics.

Whatever Notley is saying I take with a large dose of salt because she has no alternative if she wants to stay in office and like all politicians I’m sure she does. We in B.C. have our own priorities and there isn’t any reason to destroy our environment to make mulit national corporations happy. its now like its going to do anything for us or lower gas prices in this country. That Alberta tar is going out of the country. this isn’t an Alberta/B.C. debate, this is all about China’s economy not ours.

If the feds want to play, fine, but they’d be smarter to back out of it. They have more seats to lose in B.C. than they do in Alberta and they won’t every has as many in Alberta as they might in B.C.

Wasting money on destructive energy projects makes zero sense when there are better alternatives. British Columbia is spending billions on Site C. It could suspend the project today and have less harmful and cheaper sources of clean power operational by the time more electricity is needed.

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Canada’s Conservatives are committed to the Republican Party value of opposing voter fraud, if someone else is doing it. Like their American mentors, HarperCons protest electoral manipulations even more strongly when no one is doing it. Bill C-76 amends the Canada Elections Act to establish spending limits for third parties and political parties before of a […]

Freelance reporter Bob Mackin wrote that BC’s Legislature was a scandal waiting to happen and he quoted journalism professor and former Legislative reporter Sean Holman about the significant potential for abuse. Mackin blames excessive secrecy and lack of transparency...

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Check out the fine work on electoral reform by Merv Adey 2018 fellowship recipient Andrew Seal. It’s a fabulous five part series published by The Tyee. We’d like to raise additional funds to initiate the next fellowship. You can be sure it will support a comprehensive examination of a subject important to all British Columbians.